HYDERABAD:
The rain-triggered flood cutting a swathe through Punjab may soon extend its devastation to Sindh, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands living in the province’s riverine areas. Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon cautioned on Saturday that 1.65 million people residing in 15 districts of Sindh might be impacted by the rising waters.
Speaking to the media in Karachi, Sharjeel detailed that 1,651 villages, spread across 167 Union Committees and Union Councils and home to approximately 273,000 families, face the threat of inundation. He further warned that around 102 points along thousands of kilometres of the Indus River embankments showed structural weaknesses during previous major floods in 2010 and 2015.
To keep residents informed, the provincial government’s Rain and Flood Emergency Monitoring Cell has been activated. Accessible via four landline numbers, the cell will provide flood updates every three hours. Sharjeel urged the media to rely on this official source for accurate and timely information on the evolving situation.
Addressing concerns about the relocation of people living on the riverbed, Sharjeel said that most residents prefer to stay with relatives rather than moving to relief camps. “The inhabitants of the katcha areas are well aware of when to evacuate in the face of impending floods,” he explained. Nonetheless, the provincial government is proactively establishing relief camps based on estimated numbers of displaced individuals in each district. Additionally, 300 camps for livestock are being set up across Sindh to safeguard animals during the crisis.
Sharjeel also emphasised that Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah are closely monitoring the situation and actively issuing directives to ensure a coordinated response.
Flood update
Irrigation authorities recorded 364,573 cusecs of water flow at Guddu barrage, 256,660 cusecs at Sukkur, and 265,328 cusecs at Kotri on Saturday. Currently, the flood status at all three barrages remains low. Guddu barrage can withstand up to 1.2 million cusecs, Sukkur up to 960,000 cusecs, and Kotri up to 870,000 cusecs.
During the devastating 2010 floods, Kotri barrage successfully passed between one million to 1.2 million cusecs of floodwater without structural damage or spillover from its levees. Meanwhile, the Indus River has begun reclaiming its land, locally known as katcha. Residents of hundreds of villages in the Larkana, Sukkur, and Hyderabad divisions started evacuating their homes for safety on Saturday.
The floodwaters also reached the Torhi embankment, a site whose breach in 2010 caused flooding that affected almost half of Sindh province after a 15-year gap. Separately, residents of Larkana have raised concerns about weak spots developing on the Moria loop bund, criticising irrigation authorities for failing to reinforce the dyke so far.
Locals claim 50 Jamshoro villages submerged
The people in Jamshoro claimed that over 50 villages have so far gone under water but the district administration put the figure of the villages which will be submerged at 28. Deputy Commissioner Jamshoro, Ghazanfar, told that relief camps are being established in 30 school buildings.
He added that eight relief camps, 12 medical camps and five veterinary camps will be set up in Hyderabad besidese 10 mobile teams of Rescue 1122 will remain in the field for evacuation.
In Ghotki district, which borders Punjab, the provincial minister Muhammad Bux Mahar said if water level crossed 700,000 cusecs the services of Pak army and rangers will be sought to evacuate people from the katcha areas. The district administration in Kashmore-Kandhkot district, which is home to Guddu barrage, kept appealing to the dwellers of riverbed villages to relocate to safe areas. The authorities assured the people that they will be provided all required facilities in the relief camps if they opted to stay there.
